Posts Tagged ‘sugar cookies’

Sugar cookies are always a delicious treat. From just plain ones dipped in milk, to ones dipped in chocolate, to ones frosted with all sorts of decorations, it is a very versatile cookie. As a kid I remember making my mom’s sugar cookies that were thick and buttery. The best part was the butter dipped glass pressed in a mixture of sugar and nutmeg, that you used to smash down the cookie before baking. My mom is a phenomenal baker, her pantry is always stocked with the best quality ingredients. Even if she is on a tight budget you won’t see anything but Ghirardelli chips in her chocolate chip cookies, she would never skimp on her cooking ingredients.

As the years went by she switched to a new favorite sugar cookie recipe, her brown butter sugar cookies. Anytime she made it for me we ate up the cookies in record time. But I never tried making them myself until recently. These brown butter sugar cookies are delectable. They are sweet and savory and the brown sugar adds a whole other level of flavor, with rich molasses and maple notes. I made them for a recent visit from our best friends to our new ranch, we recently relocated and that is why I have not posted in a bit. So if you are a sugar cookie fan and you want to try something new, you need to check these out!

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in a 10 inch skillet (if you use a dark non-stick skillet it will be hard to see when the butter browns) over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is a dark golden brown color and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. This is an easy way to make the brown butter you see in many recipes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir in remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large, 12×18, baking sheets with parchment paper. In a shallow baking dish or pie plate, mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, rubbing between finders, until well combined, then set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Add remaining 1 3/4 Cups brown sugar and salt to the bowl with the cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined, about 1 minute. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 Tablespoons, rolling between hands into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be uses but it will take 3 batches).

Bake ONE sheet at a time until cookies are browned still puffy and the edges have begun o set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone; see photo), 12-14 minutes (depends on oven, I did mine 10), rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overtake.

Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes, use wide metal spatula to transfer cookie to wire rack to cool to room temperature. Then pour a big glass of milk and enjoy!

I have many go to cookie recipes I stick to but every now and then I try something new. Recently I saw a recipe for Snickerdoodles on my King Arthur bread flour bag. Yes folks, I typed that right, bread flour?! I have never thought of making cookies with bread flour but I was intrigued. In my baking endeavors I have found changing up the flour, using cake flour for example, can yield totally different results. This recipe was simple and I had everything in my cabinet and it was from one of my favorite recipe sites, so it was a go. I don’t think I have ever made snickerdoodles and honestly I wasn’t a huge fan of the grocery store version. These cookies came out delish, they were buttery, soft and moist and I could pronounce all the ingredients – bonus! So if you want to whip up an easy tasty treat that is sure to please your peeps, check this out:

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

*If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.

coating

2 tablespoons sugar

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste

directions

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2) Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth.

3) Add the egg, beating until smooth.

4) Beat in the vanilla, salt, and baking powder.

5) Add the flour, mixing until totally incorporated.

6) To make the coating: Shake together the sugar and cinnamon in a medium-sized zip-top plastic bag.

7) Drop 1″ balls of dough into the bag; a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here. Roll/toss the cookies in the cinnamon-sugar until they’re completely coated.

8) Space the cookies at least 1 1/2″ apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a flat-bottom glass to flatten them to about 3/8″ thick; they’ll be about 1 1/2″ in diameter.

9) Bake the cookies for 8 minutes (for soft cookies) to 10 minutes (for crunchier cookies). Remove them from the oven, and cool them on the pan until they’re firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool completely.